Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Our preliminary task was set to be 30 seconds long, and was used as a way to familiarise ourselves with the camera equipment, including the cameras and the tripods. It also helped us to begin to develop our editing skills when we uploaded the videos onto Format Factory, later to be imported into Premier.
We focused around a very simplistic mundane storyline, with the main character, (played by Harry Mead), going for a job interview, where he is interviewed by his potential employer, played by Jimmy Beaton.
The image above displays nine print screens from our Preliminary Exercise, incorporating all of the shot changes, except from the two shots of Harry and Jimmy, which were in fact repeated in the video in order to make the conversation more interesting, and longer. Following clockwise around the image, from the shot above the title screen, you can see how our video panned out; the first four shots were all of the same scene, framed from different angles to allow for a cohesive edit. The use of a simple cut transition has already been used in between each of these four shots.
As the video progresses, there is an extreme close up of Harry opening the door, which cuts to the a reverse long shot of Harry walking into the room. This is an example of match on action, which is later followed by the transition fade to black, implying the passing of time.
The final four shots of the video used shot reverse shot as Harry and Jimmy exchanged lines relating to the job in question. The video was quick, simple and easy, and did not pertain any shots that had a deeper meaning or metaphorical relevance.
In my film opening 'Red', I worked with two different people, Tom and Amber, yet all three of us transferred our knowledge, in which we had gained from GCSE work, as well as from the Preliminary Exercise, in order to achieve the best look possible.
Perhaps one of the main aspects of our film opening that makes it appear more professional than the Preliminary Exercise, is the range of shots that we incorporated; unlike the Preliminary Exercise, we did not stick to steady camera shots, but decided to venture into the art of the hand held shot. This was very effective for our production, as it reflected Red's complex, muddled persona, which was the main focus for our film.
'Terra Somnia' was another element of our film opening that made it stand out from the Preliminary Exercise, as it began to develop a sense of metaphorical meaning that the Preliminary Exercise had lacked. Meaning 'land of dreams' it was a perfect film company to use for such a film, as our two minute opening related to the bitter life of an isolated girl who merely has her own twisted thoughts for company. This were further accentuated with the use of the audio which we added on at the editing stage of our production, which, after being edited with a reverb effect, perfectly portrayed the conflicting voices within Red's head.
Overall, I would say that the most important thing which my group and I has learnt in the period between the Preliminary Exercise and the Final Cut of our film opening, is the concept of filming for a crafted reason, so that every shot has a deeper meaning behind it; the Preliminary Exercise was simply a task designed to test our ability to use a camera, and edit in a fluent manner, yet in order to achieve a more metaphorical, meaningful reflection, we had to learn how to apply our practical skills to gather more artistic shots that would portray Red's character. This could only have been achieved through effective use of audio, for which we recorded two voices, and overlaid them, soft and tranquil music, for which we used a piece performed by Beethoven, the camerawork and the visual effects, for which we used a varied range of hand held, and steady shots, which were then altered using gamma correction to make them darker or lighter depending on the mood. The use of black and white shots contrasting with shots in edited colour was another useful technique that helped visually display Red's character in a symbolic and metaphorical manner.
